Field of Innocence
by XxSweet-NightmarexX
Summary: An girl orphaned by tragedy is raised as a Shinra lab rat. She joins SOLDIER to escape her fate, but the alternative may not be much better. Crisis Core AU.
1. Prologue

**AN: Hello, and welcome to my long in the making FFVII fanfiction. I'll be frank, if you don't like AU fanfictions, this probably isn't the fanfiction for you. That said, I'm hoping mine isn't going to read like the typical AU fanfiction. Only way to know is to try, so here goes nothing. I don't own FFVII, any characters in the compilation, and am in no way affiliated with Square Enix. Enjoy.**

A stiff wind blew through the slums as the last of the gunshots faded into nothing, a dull thud as the last of the bodies fell, marking the end of the horror. The tiny sounds of choked tears came from under a worn down patio, the only place spared from the carnage. Bodies littered the outside of the house, pools of blood stagnating around the scene of horror.

It was less than an hour later that the first helicopter arrived. Men and women in suits began to comb over the scene, carefully packing bodies into thick bags and sending them away, crews of other people cleaning up the remnants splattered on the ground. Some started on the house, covering windows with planks and putting a condemned notice on the door. It wasn't until a startled squeak came from under the porch that anyone knew one person had survived.

"Boss! I've got something," one of the suited men called out, stooping to peer under the rotting wood. Shaking, a small girl no more than five scuttled as far back as she could go, squeezing between a few fallen planks, feet squishing into the mud beneath her. The man tried to reach under, but he was too big. One by one, each suited member of the group tried to reach under the porch and get the girl out, but it was no use.

"I have an idea," one of the women in the group declared, and pulled one of her fellows towards a helicopter. It flew away, only to return about half an hour later; it was getting dark, and the girl shifted uncomfortably, curled up and covered in mud. The woman approached the deck again, followed by a smaller figure, another girl who couldn't have been more than a year older if that. She squeezed under the porch.

"Hi."

"...Hi." The hiding girl curled her legs closer to her chest, watching with wary eyes.

"I'm Cissnei," she held out a small hand like she'd seen adults do, but the scared girl made no move to take it.

"...Fuyume."

"Did you get hurt?" Cissnei asked, noticing the blood on the girl's face. Fuyume shook her head, but her strong front was failing; tears dripped down her face, as much as she didn't want them to.

"Where's my mommy?" she asked. Cissnei hesitated, looking back at the woman, who nodded at her.

"She's gone now," Cissnei offered her hand. "If you come out, they'll take care of you." Fuyume still didn't move.

"Who're you?"

"I don't have a mommy or daddy either; they take care of me," she stretched her fingers out towards her. Fuyume watched her carefully for a moment, then slowly crawled from safety. She watched the rest of the suited people as the woman who accompanied Cissnei carefully cleaned her up, wiping blood from her face and dirt from her legs. She cast one last look at her home before she was bundled onto a helicopter and taken away.

"I don't know how much longer I can take this place," Fuyume mumbled, the two girls huddled together in the younger's room, speaking by flashlight so security wouldn't hear that Cissnei wasn't in her own room. Three years had passed, and both bore the scars, mental and physical. Cissnei was being put through rigorous training; it was no secret she was being groomed to be a Turk. Fuyume's scars were much more literal; cruel and unusual tests were carried out on the brunette almost every day, mako worked into her system in various ways, testing to see if any one way was better than the other, how high of a dose a human could take, how a growing body reacted to the treatment, and she didn't know how much longer she could take it before she snapped.

"I know. But we're just kids," Cissnei argued. "What can we do?" Fuyume bit her lip.

"We could leave," she suggested.

"And what? Starve on the streets?"

"Sometimes I feel like that'd be better." Fuyume turned away from her friend, fiddling with the flashlight. Cissnei scoffed.

"Sure, they use us, and they don't care, but we're warm and safe. We should stay." It was Fuyume's turn to scoff.

"You're safe. I'm a lab rat. They couldn't care less about me." Cissnei frowned at her friend.

"What do you mean?"

"You don't want to know. Go back to your room, I wanna go to bed," Fuyume mumbled, tossing her the light and crawling into her militaristic cot. Cissnei watched her, taking the light in her hands and covering it so just the barest sliver showed.

"Goodnight," she mumbled, sneaking out.

A blood curdling screech filled the halls. Fuyume was strapped to a sterile white table; she strained against the straps, the leather digging into her skin, leaving marks. She could see the faint glow of mako under her skin as it was injected in huge quantities, burning her veins, spots filling her vision. She lashed out with her teeth, but the scientists had long since learned to step back before the procedures began.

As the burning sensations dulled into a faint ache, the bonds were loosened and her limbs freed. She sat up, rubbing the injection points with a sour expression. Five years since the incident in the slums, and there wasn't a day that went by that she didn't regret coming out of her hiding spot. Sometimes she even wished she had died with her parents.

The scientists left her alone for several long moments. She rubbed her sore arms, expression stony as she determinedly refused to show how broken she felt. She had stood and was stretching when a man in a suit entered the room; Fuyume stiffened. Turk.

"Hello," he greeted professionally, taking a seat in a chair across from the testing table. "Veld, of the Turks."

"What do you want?" Fuyume wasted no greetings on this pariah.

"The company has begun considering your future in the company, considering your treatment."

"Torture," she corrected.

"Regardless, they want to make sure you're somewhere where your talents can be put to use. I'm here to offer you a place among the Turks."

"No." Fuyume's voice rang with finality as she turned away and, without waiting for the scientists' okay, left the room.

Gasping and shaking, Fuyume staggered to the science wing of Shinra Corp. She normally would rather suffer alone, or go get Cissnei, than turn to the science division of her makeshift home. It had been two days since her last treatment, and she didn't know what was happening to her. She was feet away from one of the labs before her legs gave out.

The haze cleared to show a familiar lab room and the equally familiar burning sensation in her veins, but she no longer screamed or cried when the mako flooded her veins. In the back of the room, the ringleader of the project scribbled on a clipboard; Professor Hojo. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"What's happening to me?" she growled, demanding, not asking. He didn't even pay her the courtesy to look at her.

"Mako addiction. A failure," was all he said before he headed for the door, completely uninterested. She hopped down from the table and grabbed his lab coat.

"And what exactly am I supposed to do about it?!" she snapped. "You don't think Cissnei would notice if I just stopped coming out of my room one day? You don't think she'll notice these?" Fuyume gestured at her eyes, which just a few days before had made a sudden change to a bright, vivid purple.

"Not my problem," he shrugged. "But this experiment is top secret; if you care about your friend, I suggest you not say anything." He pulled his sleeve from her vicegrip and left, slamming the door with a ringing finality.

"Fuyume! Why won't you let me in?" Cissnei called indignantly from the other side of the door. Fuyume squeezed her eyes shut, hands clutching the side of her head, one clinging to a now-empty syringe.

"You've changed, Cissnei. Joining the Turks? Being one of their pawns? You sicken me," she shot back, every word coming up like a burning tongue of flame. She didn't want to say these things, but Cissnei could never know. The long silence that stretched without retreating footsteps said more words than Cissnei needed to say to her old friend.

"If...if that's what you want," the newest Turk recruit said quietly, almost too quiet for Fuyume to hear, before the sound of boots on tile retreated from the door. Fuyume waited several moments before the tears started to come.

She was alone.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

I fidgeted uncomfortably at the edge of the group, arms crossed. About fifteen of us huddled in the room together. The others mumbled uncomfortably, exchanging hesitant introductions, shaking hands, eventually relaxing as we waiting for instruction. I watched them as if through a window, and they glanced at me like I was an animal inside a cage; strange, exotic, different. About an hour after we were left in the room to stew, the door opened, and a man in a suit who looked like he belonged behind a desk walked in.

"Welcome to SOLDIER," he began. "My name is Lazard, and I'm the director of SOLDIER. You were chosen because we need the best, and we believe you have what it takes." I directed my attentions out a nearby window; I felt no pride in my new station, only grim acceptance. I could only hope this path led to happier days, but I certainly was not proud of the position.

"If you will kindly follow your escort, you will be taken to another room where you will be instructed on your training and what will be expected of you." The group began to file out after a young woman who appeared to be a secretary. I made to follow, only to be held back by a hand on my shoulder.

"Director?"

"I've been instructed to make sure your training is overseen by the best," Lazard explained. I narrowed my eyes.

"I don't want any special treatment," I insisted, taking a step towards the door. "Any training good enough for them is good enough for me."

"I'm sorry, but I have orders from my superiors," He seemed genuinely apologetic. "You understand." I gave a heavy sigh and followed the director from the room.

* * *

Exhausted, I made my way back to my room. It turned out that the three most distinguished SOLDIER First Classes would be overseeing my training; Angeal, Genesis, and Sephiroth. They had seen fit to start as soon as I was provided with my gear; it was a workout, I would admit. Not only that, but I felt hilariously outmatched; maybe this had been a bad idea all along. Turning a blind corner, I bumped into someone. I took a quick step back and clasped my hands together, eyes trained on the ground.

"Sorry, my fault," I mumbled, as I heard a similar hurried apology. I glanced up to find myself looking at an average Shinra infantryman, looking as green as I was. We stood awkwardly across from each other for a moment.

"New?" he asked. I nodded.

"SOLDIER Third Class, Fuyume Hartell," I introduced quietly.

"Cloud Strife," he replied, offering a hand. I shook it quickly. We glanced around the hall, not really certain if we wanted to talk or run for cover.

"Well, see you around," he muttered, hurrying off.

"See you," I mumbled at his back, feeling a bit regretful; if I'd known what to say maybe I wouldn't be sitting alone for the next several hours before going to sleep. I shook the thought from my mind and continued towards my room, paying attention this time.

* * *

Over the following months, I was honed into a fine bade. The first monster I encountered had nearly been my last; I'd frozen completely, forgetting all of my training. It was several more sessions before I learned how to keep my cool. I could tell the others were losing patience with me; I assume they had expected natural talent after the big deal Shinra had made over my training. All was not lost, however; I learned quickly and it wasn't long before I was rewarded with a promotion to SOLDIER Second Class. The first mission I'd been sent on alone, while it was just exterminating monsters that had strayed too close to Midgar, was one of the few proud moments of my life. A moment only marred by the news when I returned that Genesis had disappeared, along with a huge number of second and third classes.

Things stagnated for a while within SOLDIER. My training ground to a halt, and all attention was focused on the larger and now understaffed missions. The Firsts never seemed to be around on the SOLDIER floor anymore. Anxious Seconds populated it more thickly than ever. Confined to the building, even I was getting antsy.

"Would you stop moving?" I mumbled quietly; another second class had paced probably the whole floor a few times over. He let out a frustrated noise as he slumped down on some steps.

"I can't help it! I haven't had an assignment in weeks! It can't be just me." I scoffed.

"Normal people are usually glad for time off," I pointed out. He flashed a grin at me.

"Guess I'm not normal," he shrugged, resuming his restless movement around the floor, culminating in sitting on the steps again.

"By the way, I'm Zack," he introduced.

"Fuyume. Pleasure." _Not really._

"You train with the Firsts don't you? You can't tell me this isn't driving you nuts." He stood again; I was about to knock him on his ass if he didn't quit moving around.

"I haven't trained in a little over a month; they were all busy, then Genesis disappeared."

"Disappeared?"

"Yeah. Dunno where. Maybe he's just playing hooky." My tone was flippant, but my face was not; I knew very well that's not what it was. Zack shrugged and went to the window again, frowning. A beep came from his pocket; he pulled out his phone and glanced at the message; his face instantly lit up.

"Gotta go, see ya!" he waved as he hurried off, excited as a new recruit. I sighed, somewhat glad for the silence but feeling oddly empty. It wasn't long before I heard footsteps approach.

"Fuyume." I nearly fell over; I turned my head to see Cissnei clad in a dark suit, looking stony and professional. I crossed my arms defensively.

"Hi."

"I wanted to congratulate you on making Second," she offered politely. "Quite the honor." My nails dug into my arms; maybe if I held on tight enough, I could hold in everything I wanted to say.

"Thanks. Suits you," I nodded at her attire. Neither of us said anything for a long moment.

"Well. I gotta go," she turned away. I wanted to call her back, apologise for everything, but I bit my lip and held it back as she retreated. I retired to my room that evening, staring at my phone, hoping to be called to action so I wouldn't have to think about the silence.

A few days after, a beep on my phone summoned me to the Director's office.

"Fuyume," he greeted as I entered the briefing room. "I know you've been out of training for a while. I don't want it to stagnate, so I'm sending you on an assignment in Banora."

"Why Banora? There's nothing out there," I pointed out. He frowned, leaning forward on his desk.

"It's Genesis' home town; his parents say they've had no contact, but we can't trust them; we need to send the best."

"Why not send Sephiroth then?"

"He won't go." I frowned in surprise.

"Won't go?"

"Refused the mission, so I'm sending you and Zack Fair, another second class, to investigate with a member of the Turks; they sent people out to do their own investigation, but they went missing." Lazard watched my face carefully as I struggled to hide my disgust at working with a Turk.

"SOLDIER could handle it by ourselves," I insisted. Lazard shook his head.

"They've lost people, they have to investigate. With any luck we'll be able to recover the missing operatives; a quick in and out mission."

"Somehow I doubt that."

"Regardless, get ready to go, I've already told the others and they're preparing to leave by helicopter." I clenched my hands and spun on my heel, going to retrieve my gear.

* * *

The ride there was tense; Tseng, the Turk sent to accompany them, sat with a stoicness that didn't invite conversation. Unlike when they'd met, Zack was completely silent, staring out a window with a strange expression on his face. I stayed quiet as well, not willing to open any of the cans of worms they were carrying with them.

Upon landing, we exited to be greeted by a path lined with trees bearing blue apples. Ignoring them, I approached a ledge overlooking the town. There was no sign of Genesis or any of the missing operatives; more strangely, there were no signs of any of the townsfolk, and that was a much more worrying thing.

"I'm going ahead to check the town, catch up with you later," I called over my shoulder and took a shortcut through some brush down to the town. It was eerily quiet; no lights in any of the windows, no signs of any people at all, but the sounds of movement in the houses. Narrowing my eyes, I slowly approached one of the doors, quietly drawing my sword. Slowly taking the handle, I threw the door open to the sound of snarls. A group of monsters charged out of the house, lunging at me with their jaws snapping. I jumped back, casting Fire at them as I slashed at a closer monster. Two of them fled, yelping as flames licked at their heels. The last dodged around my blade, latching onto my arm with its fangs. Hissing in pain, I grabbed the nape of its neck and cast Thunder, sending a jolt of electricity through it as I ripped my arm from its jaws. It dropped, yelping, and I gripped my sword tightly, beheading it with one mighty thrust. I rubbed my injured arm, already scabbing over as I watched; I pulled some bandages from my pack and wrapped it firmly in a layer of gauze, more to hide the healing than to help the wound. Even a SOLDIER might question the speed at which it was healing without any healing aides.

I assumed from the presence of monsters that Genesis was probably not hiding out in the town itself. I headed towards the outskirts, following a dirt path but sticking to the edges; there was a cliff that seemed to follow the path, so I crept through its shadow, pressed against the rocks. It took only a little walking to bring me to a large building, looking mostly abandoned. Despite its darkened state, however, I could occasionally see people walking past windows, around corners; this was definitely where he was hiding. My phone beeped, and I reluctantly answered.

"Fuyume here."

"It's Tseng; I'm on a cliff overlooking a warehouse on the edge of town." I looked up and thought I could just barely see him at the edge.

"Yeah, I'm down on the ground right in front of it."

"We should go in through the roof; there are plenty of windows to get through and it would cause less attention."

"No, I want to go in here," I insisted. "I think I can talk to him, maybe make him see sense. I don't know why he's hurting his own home town like this, but I'm sure he'll still listen to reason; he was never cruel by nature." I could almost hear the scathing glance.

"No. We found the remains of his parents; if he'd do that to them, he's not going to listen to-" I hung up on him. I was certain this was going to work. Taking a deep breath, I walked out into the open. Instantly, I was surrounded by soldiers in red, pointing guns at me. I held up my empty hands, sword sheathed at my back.

"Hold, I'm unarmed," I said formally. "I'd like to speak with Genesis; I mean him no harm." The soldiers glanced at each other. One seemed to listen to something through what I assume was an earpiece, then nodded to the others, who dropped their weapons.

"Very well," he assented. "Go in." I nodded, and with my hands still held away from my sides, in clear view, I went inside.

It was just as dark inside as I thought, the only light coming through the windows from outside. There were no rooms up higher, so I went through a nearby doorway, which first took me into what looked like an office. A hall led away from the office into what I assumed was a second room. I hung back, suddenly doubting my plan. What if Tseng was right? What if he was beyond reasoning with? Did I even want to reason with him? Wasn't leaving ShinRa what I'd always dreamed of doing? Maybe I only felt like I needed to bring him back because it wasn't fair that he could leave and I couldn't.

I swallowed, solidifying my resolve, and continued through the hall.


End file.
